Heather Collins: Young Writers Awards

Heather Collins, acting children's programme co-ordinator, drops by this week to talk about this year's Young Writers Awards. Amber, Callum and Samantha are the three applicants who were chosen to take part in the mentoring programme this year with Cathy Forde.

On Saturday Amber, Callum and Samantha were back in Edinburgh to take part in their first workshop with Cathy Forde.

The three budding writers, chosen out of 106 applicants back in June to take part in this year’s Young Writers Awards will be meeting with Cathy regularly over the next four months. With her help they’ll each be developing a piece of creative writing. As well as gaining valuable experience through mentoring we will be introducing them to a range of literature industry professionals, from an agent, to a playwright. They’ll also visit a top London publisher in November.

Having already met for an introductory session in June the writers had come prepared with synopses of the pieces they intend to work on. They spent the morning hard at work with Cathy, figuring out where to take their work next. Each writer will be working at a pace which suits them.

As it was the final weekend of the Edinburgh International Book Festival we knew we couldn’t miss the opportunity to take them along. After a very quick but delicious lunch in Gourmet Burger Kitchen we hot-footed it to Charlotte Square to see novelists Rupert Thomson and Maggie Gee discuss their memoirs. It was a very interesting event, and we were glad to hear both of them offer encouraging words to writers, young writers in particular.

After the event we were treated to a quick tour of the book festival site. Sara Grady, the children’s programme director, took us to a quiet spot behind the hustle and bustle of the main area to give us the lowdown on the festival and how it works. We were even treated to a sneaky peak in the authors’ yurt. We were incredibly grateful to Sara for taking time out of her unbelievably hectic schedule; it was a great way to end a busy but productive day.

If all that wasn’t exciting enough I was thrilled to reveal to Amber, Callum and Samantha that they have all been published in the most recent edition of One Magazine. They were able to pick up extra copies at Charlotte Square to take home. I have no doubt it will be the first of many times they’ll see their names in print.

We will next see them on 9^th October. In the meantime they’ll be busy writing, and will each have a one-to-one GLOW meet with Cathy in September. I promise to get them blogging too, so you can all hear what it’s like to take part in the Young Writers Awards.

Other News:

Ever fancied seeing your artwork in a published book, or brought to life by a sculptor? Then grab your pens because the hunt is on to find a talented illustrator for a brand new children’s book exploring the history, landscape and folklore of the Cleveleys coast. Lancashire literature agency Litfest and Wyre Borough Council have launched an open competition to find an illustrator for the Mythic Coastline project. 

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